The Best Eco-friendly Diaper Websites

In real life, it’s often hard–or even impossible–to find cloth diaper supplies. Big box stores like Target or Babys-R-Us sell a few cloth diapers, but these are generally the flimsy varieties that are better used as burp cloths. If you want to get started with cloth diapers, your best bet is to find a brick and mortar store in your town. Here in Portland, I’ve had good luck at Mother Nature’s (for new supplies) and The Children’s Exchange (for used supplies). Joy purchased all her cloth supplies at Bambini’s in Eugene, which carries both new and used items. In your local shop, it’s possible to look at the diapers, ask the shopkeepers questions, and avoid shipping costs. Many stores will offer starter kits so you can get everything you need for less than buying everything piecemeal.

If you don’t have a shop nearby, you will probably turn to the Internet for help. So where do you begin?

Diaper Companies

The companies below sell their own diapers. Their websites are also great places to find tips on washing diapers, weigh-ins on the environmental debate, and disposable vs. cloth cost-comparison analyses.

Diaperaps offers basic diaper covers to go over prefolds. You can also get diaper liners through this company.

Cottonbabies is the company that brings BumGenius diapers, which are adjustable diapers that can fit your baby from birth to potty-training. Cottonbabies also sells prefolds and an all-in-one.

If you have your own recommendations–or anti-recommendations–for online diaper resources, let us know by posting a comment or emailing us at greenbabyguide@gmail.com. You’ll save yourself hours of Internet browsing by visiting a local diaper shop, but sometimes that isn’t an option. The links above should give you a head start on the great eco-diaper hunt.

We don’t have a local brick and mortar shop in our area, so I’ve found both Craigslist and Diaperswappers.com to be quite useful. Diaperswappers has forums for just about everything and so it is a resource not only to buy and sell, but also to learn about different methods. We discovered wool covers for nighttime use on diaperswappers, which enabled us to take the plunge and cloth diaper not only during the day, but also over night. Since then we’ve discovered that a BumGenius stuffed with 3 pads also works for us overnight. Although not everyone may be up for second hand cloth diapers, re-selling your dipes when you are finished with them, further reduces costs and is even more eco-friendly!

Hi All – We are very excited to announce that Moltex Oko nappies (diapers) from Germany will soon be available in the US through our website http://www.shoptootles.com. Please visit our site – we also feature stylish organic clothing for kids using 100% organic cotton and certified fair-trade!

I have personally used Moltex and they are awesome! There’s no leakage at all and they’re much more eco-friendly than the others available in the market today.

This is a great resource for finding out about some different cloth diapers, its nice to see it all posted in one place. My wife and I also use cloth diapers and since I like them so much I wanted to mention which ones we use. They are also an adjustable size like the BumGenius, but they don’t require an insert! They are called Baby Boms and you can find them at http://www.babyboms.com They do require a seperate cover, but the nice thing about that is you can use the cover several times before washing it. Or if you’re a knitter like my wife, you can knit your own wool soakers. Its a great way to go.

Hello! Why is Gdiapers not mentioned? I highly recomend EVERYONE check them out! A very cool unique hybrid of cloth and biodegradable insert!

gDiapers, which stands for green diapers, consist of a washable, cotton outer ‘little g’ pant and a plastic-free flushable diaper refill. They are made of breathable material just like sports clothing. So, babies stay dry and happy and are far less likely to get diaper rash.

A totally new way to think about diapers.
Once you get the hang of it, the whole process will seem as normal as recycling your newspaper.

In the beginning, you may have an icky encounter until you get into the groove of using gDiapers.

You can also compost the wet ones or simply toss the soiled refill. It will break down in the landfill in about 90 days vs. up to 500 years for a disposable. Ah, the beauty of eco-friendly plastic-free diapers.

Learn how to flush the flushable diaper refills and how to get the perfect gDiaper fit.

I just wonted to say that this is a great alternative in diapers there are so many choices out there these days. I am a green childcare and I have pout together an informational flier with green alternatives in it for my clients. My client appreciate all the recourses that I give them.
Tootles

I really want to go eco friendly, but why must they be TWICE the price as regular diapers? My friend simple can’t afford these eco friendly brands and bought huggies after feeling defeated. It was 16 cents a diaper versus 34 cents a diaper. I can’t wait until this is more affordable/mainstream for people. Any suggestions would be great on what is economical and eco friendly. Is there a way to get even close to 16 cents or 20 cents? Thank you for the helpful list!

Jill, I will give you a little sneak peak of our book, which won’t be out until March. We found the most affordable “greener” disposables to be the Whole Foods 365 brand diapers, at 26-32 cents per diaper. We compared this to Huggies, which run at 19-31 cents. Both of these options will end up costing more than $1500 from birth to age 2.5.

I don’t suppose your friend has any interest in cloth? I cloth diapered my baby from birth to potty training for under $250, total. This included the price of diapers, washing and drying costs, and six packs of disposables I used for travel and such.

Thank you so much for this great suggestion. I FINALLY remembered (pregnancy brain) to check out to see if the Whole Foods in our neighborhood had the 365 brand and they do. It is what we are going with to work with our budget. (unless we come into some $$ by then to get the gdiaper:) Thank you for taking the time.

This is a great list of resources! I don’t make or sell but have done cloth diapering with all four of my children. It’s saved us THOUSANDS, since we’ve been able to use the same $300 worth of diapers, going on 8 years straight actually!
I have a comment on the Seventh Generation diapers. They are chlorine free, and they market them as ‘unbleached’. But that natural brown color they are that seems so cool? Yeah. They DYE them to be marketed that way. Natural cotton is white. I found that pretty disappointing and deceptive to the consumer, you know?

Talitha, that is a great point about 7th Generation. I may have to write a post about “greener” disposables again soon. It’s true that natural cotton is white or at least beige, but disposable diapers do not contain any cotton–they are made out of wood pulp and plastic, basically. Because 7th Gen. doesn’t contain chlorine bleach (the only thing that makes them eco-friendlier than regular disposables, by the way!), they do dye them brown. The brown dye is nontoxic, unlike bleach. They say that this dye is necessary because otherwise the diapers would look eerily clear. Hm. But yeah, it is deceptive in that probably a lot of parents think the brown color is natural; the dyed diapers look like they’re made out of recycled cardboard or something!

Green is more than feel good components. Baby diapers manufactures have fooled the consumer for years. Take a look at what we believe the future of consumerism in the US. BAMBO Nature is a new baby diaper line that takes eco-friendly products to the next level. The only baby diaper awarded the Nordic Swan. For more information go to http://www.Bambo-Nature.com.

I use Nature Babycare diapers and I love them! They are biodegradable and work just as well, if not better, than other disposables. I get mine through diapers.com but they can be bought in some stores (the Target in my area used to sell them but then discontinued them).

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